Defence at Lorgan's Watch

"Get on with it yer mongrels, the enemy is at our doorstep. To your posts!"

Lorgan's Watch has stood guard over Hanern's eastern approaches for centuries. This old fort has long proven itself a bulwark against enemy aggression through many hard wars, but stretched supply lines and further troubles abroad have left it neglected and in disrepair. Indeed there is little anything else in these remote parts save for a meagre garrison of poorly-supplied militia.

For Captain Baldur, all that is left on his mind is counting down the days until he can return home where his wife and a warm hearth awaits. The battles of the Old War are now a children's bedtime story of the past, and what was once a thriving land has given way to the decaying chill of winter. Surely no one would be foolish enough to attack during these cold months, would they?

This is my entry to the 2016 Defend-the-Spot contest with features including:

Gloomy winter atmosphere

Gripping defend-the-spot style action, including fixed-force and build-&-destroy game play

Highly-detailed and atmospheric map design

Almost 70 custom sounds

Over 800 triggers

Difficulty-level-dynamic game play

Multiple endings: victory or death awaits you. How will Baldur and his men be remembered?

I hope you enjoy this project!

*** Winner of the 2016 Defend-the-Spot Contest ***

*** This campaign received the award BEST STORY and BEST SCORE in the Game of the Year Awards of 2016 ***

Settings:

Speed: Normal

Resolution: 1024 x 768

This file requires only the base game in the Conquerors to function. It is not compatible with HD.

That's okay, but I assure you it's achievable. There are a number of possible endings, all of which are acceptable in the context of the game. If you slay the enemy general the enemy forces may or may not retreat, however if you die the story still continues.

D4Ra4Aracks111

Posted on 04/28/16 @ 05:05 PM

no my lorgan watch(town center) was destroyed just after I kill general morgen. there is bug?.

HockeySam18StaffOfficial Reviewer

Posted on 04/28/16 @ 07:15 PM

Rating

5.0

Breakdown

Playability

5.0

Balance

5.0

Creativity

5.0

Map Design

5.0

Story/Instructions

5.0

Defence at Lorgan's Watch is Mash's entry to the 2016 Defend the Spot Competition, and a worthy winner of the first place prize.

Playability: 5
A masterpiece of the DTS genre, Defence at Lorgan's Watch is another manifestation of Mash's brilliance in this sphere of gameplay. Faced with an overwhelming enemy force, the player is tasked with the defense of Lorgan's Keep, a small and remote border fortress, against seemingly impossible odds. An initial cutscene establishes suitable context for the player while allowing them the chance to learn the lay of the land before thrusting them into the action. The cinematic portions interspersed throughout the scenario are remarkably smooth, and the player is guaranteed about 45 minutes worth of continuous fun as they defend their fortress from continuous and varied enemy assaults while completing sidequests and sneakily gathering resources and purchasing upgrades. Top-notch balance, map design, and narrative elements contribute in a positive manner to the playability, and the scenario is almost entirely devoid of bugs. One concern is that the AI, having demolished the entrance of the main gatehouse, generally focuses their forces entirely on that region and not the gate across the causeway (although the designer has implemented certain triggered elements in an attempt to overcome this issue).

Balance: 5
Another strong point of the scenario, the balance represents either hours of meticulous testing or a high degree of natural affinity for DTS balancing (or both). While defending the fortress, the player is assailed with numerous companies of enemy troops and given barely enough assets to sustain the defenses and hold the line. Again and again, certain events force the player to react quickly and decisively - the arrival of siege weapons necessitates the repurposing of defensive forces or even a daring sally beyond the walls, and enemy leaders and their retinues present deadly threats that demand immediate attention. I was particularly impressed with the choices of the designer in what was made available to the player - from upgrades to units and buildings, as well as precious weaponry and scarce resources. While the player will inevitably desire to train numerous ranged units to provide firepower from behind the walls, the designer has assured through limited resources and the copious presence of proper counter units that ranged unit abuse is not possible, and the player is thus forced to make key choices and invest in a diverse army in order to repel the enemy assault. Reinforcements and resources arrived at the perfect moments, and the general sense was quite realistic - so much that I felt myself reminded of my reading of various accounts of late antique and early medieval siege, and impressed with the ability of the author to translate the siege of a fortress so realistically to the AoK engine.

Creativity: 5
In this scenario, the designer makes excellent use of a combination of well-established DTS concepts (many of which, to be fair, he has previously invented!) and creative elements. The map design in particular absolutely emanated creativity, and the combination of DTS, FF, and RPS elements involved in the defense was a boon to the gameplay.

Map Design: 5
Perhaps the highlight of the scenario, the map design in this entry is so gorgeous that it is actually borderline distracting. The visual allure of an expertly designed fortress, a stunning and novel take on wintry forests and the open terrain beside them, interspersed with small abandoned settlements and ruins, rocks, and frozen bodies of water endlessly dazzled the player. Another great strength of the design was how flawlessly it complimented the gameplay while remaining organic and realistic - I would go as far as to say that it contributed significantly to the gameplay experience. Also remarkable was the sheer amount of creativity involved in the design and the gameplay/objectives that it suited - everything had a purpose, and nothing seemed remotely monotonous. Overall the author has created something quite special, and certainly worth a top score.

Story/Instructions: 5
The narrative sphere of the entry, as per Mash's MO, was a particularly exemplary aspect, and it is always welcoming to feel like the story was conveyed so well that you feel as if you can identify with and step into the shoes of a group of 2d sprites! Mash's trademark dark and ominous atmosphere is conveyed in top form, and between the pregame writeup, the cinematic portions, and the gameplay itself, the player is treated to a quite wholesome effort, something in which nearly 60(!) sound files prove quite contributory. The instructions are informative but not overbearing, and are thus adequate and quite helpful.

In closing, this is an imperative addition to your custom campaign folder if you're looking for a healthy dose of top-notch DTS fun.

MashekStaffOfficial ReviewerFile Author

Posted on 04/28/16 @ 07:19 PM

Actually I forgot to disable the loss mechanic when the town centre is destroyed, given that it is the player's epic last stand and all. I'll update the file shortly.

Aracks, are you able to reload from an earlier save point? My advice for now is to not let the town centre get destroyed.

[Edited on 05/01/16 @ 04:46 PM]

D4Ra4Aracks111

Posted on 04/28/16 @ 11:42 PM

forget it I know the problem, the trebuchet was destroy from far, i'm not see it. sorry!.

D4Ra4Aracks111

Posted on 04/30/16 @ 08:15 PM

Rating

5.0

Breakdown

Playability

5.0

Balance

5.0

Creativity

5.0

Map Design

5.0

Story/Instructions

5.0

Defence at Lorgan's Watch,the winners of DTS 2016 by mashek.
Playability: 5
I enjoyed this scenario, it's different playability from"Blood of the Bear". it's mix B&D and FF,it has good balance.

Balance: 5
when first time I play this I always frustated, it's very difficult you only Have 50 men to defend from 800 hundred enemy or more. but I know it's not just FF but we must use strategies like build tower,repair siege weapon, I never think that before. you must smart and patient when playing this scenario.

Creativity: 5
Mashek was like to design snowy scenario, snowy with siege theme map and fortress. his creative to make siege gameplay, It's like real siege situation dark atmo, music and enemy with map theme. I still can't believe you create this scenario without userpatch 1.4

Map Design: 5
like I mention above using brown trees and snowy with good eyecandy fortress and some of ruins.

Story/Instructions: 5
the story was connected with second Kretharn war. mashek story always tell about massive army attack the poor country killing everyone in their path. then siege in the fortress. then the massive army defeated. but I like that story. it's very great.

Additional Comments:
good job mash. good luck on your main project now.

Julius999Official Reviewer

Posted on 05/01/16 @ 01:13 PM

Lots of fun, and obviously reminiscent of Mashek's "Blood of the Bear" scenario. For my money, this doesn't top that, but it is still excellent.

There are a couple of things that didn't work quite as it appears they should. (1) It is possible, during the last stand, to kill General Morgen and cause his forces to retreat but still lose abruptly because the town centre at the middle of the fort was sniped by a trebuchet just afterwards. (2) If you are thoroughly successful, a scout is supposed to head along the east road, but can get stuck in enemy troops that haven't fled as they are meant to.

I found the trebuchets being able to snipe the town centre more annoying than challenging. They have colossal range, are virtually impossible to take down, and aren't even flagged up as the threat of sudden death that they are.

[Edited on 05/01/16 @ 01:13 PM]

D4Ra4Aracks111

Posted on 05/01/16 @ 03:04 PM

Julius build many tower on the west entrance, so it will give you support against enemies and trebuchet will attack your tower not your town center.

[Edited on 07/15/16 @ 08:41 PM]

Julius999Official Reviewer

Posted on 05/01/16 @ 03:12 PM

I found the tower strategy was key to getting to that point in the first place. The point I'm making is that the trebuchet element doesn't work very smoothly. On hard difficulty, I didn't find I had resources for very many towers anyway.